Conservative platform: Harper pledges to slash $4-billion in spending

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Stephen Harper is promising to trim enough “fat” from government spending to achieve savings of $4 billion and balance the books a year ahead of schedule under an austere campaign platform designed to frame the Conservatives as prudent managers of the economy.

The platform released Friday includes a few new measures, such as an edict that bureaucrats must eliminate a regulation for every one they propose, as well as plans to arm Canadian Coast Guard officials who board ships and require all federal inmates to be tested for drugs once a year.

But the platform leans heavily on promises the Conservatives have already made in last month’s federal budget or on the campaign trail.

The federal budget tabled March 22 projected the books will return to balance in 2015-16. But the Conservatives now say that will be done a year earlier, as a result of a one-year “strategic” review of program expenses expected to save $4 billion per year.

The platform doesn’t provide details on how those savings will be found. But Mr. Harper suggested the savings could be achieved with relatively little pain, through measures such as consolidating computer systems across departments and allowing the public service to shrink through attrition.

“The federal government has not done an operating review in 15 years,” Mr. Harper said at a convention centre in Mississauga, Ont. “We know there’s fat to be saved.”

Mr. Harper also promised the Conservatives will continue to increase health-care transfers to the provinces at the current rate of six per cent annually, once an accord with the provinces expires in 2014. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff made the same pledge on Friday and challenged Mr. Harper to take a stand.

Mr. Harper noted that the former Liberal government of Jean Chretien cut health transfers in the 1990s to help slay the deficit.

“We are planning on a six-per-cent ongoing increase for health-care transfers,” Mr. Harper said. “That’s our plan, and the other guys did exactly the opposite. The record’s there. They cut health care and education to the provinces. We will not do that.”

As expected, the platform is heavy on defence and justice initiatives, as well as modest tax breaks targeted at constituencies such as seniors, single-income families and small-business owners.

The Tories are pledging to follow through on their plans to buy F-35 fighter jets under a sole-sourced contract with Lockheed Martin whose cost has been pegged as high as $29 billion over three decades.

The Conservatives are setting aside $2.2 billion for Quebec to help the province harmonize its sales tax with the federal Goods and Services Tax.

The party will reintroduce legislation to eliminate the long-gun registry, which has long been unpopular in rural Canada.

The Tories are also pledging to phase out public subsidies for political parties over three years.

Mr. Harper argues his party’s “prudent, low-tax” plan is needed to keep the economic recovery on course. Figures released Friday show the Canadian economy unexpectedly shed 1,500 jobs in March. Many analysts expect economic growth to moderate over the rest of the year, after robust gains in the first quarter.

In the March 22 budget, the Conservatives projected a deficit of $29.6 billion this year. The budget, which was rejected by all three opposition parties, forecast the government would return the budget to a surplus of $4.2 billion in 2015-16.

The Tories announced plans in the budget to conduct a one-year review of the “relevance and effectiveness” of federal programs. The Conservatives said they hoped to eventually achieve $4 billion in annual savings, but they didn’t book that figure in the budget, since the savings haven’t been identified.

The Conservatives now say the deficit will reach $30.3 billion this year. The new measures in the platform will add $6.6 billion in spending over five years. By claiming the $4 billion in savings now, however, they are projecting a surplus of $2.8 billion in 2014-15.
The $4 billion in savings represents about 3.4 per cent of the “direct” program spending budgets of federal departments.
The Conservatives will follow through on tax breaks announced in the budget, including a temporary credit for small businesses that hire workers and a credit for individuals who provide care for family members.

The platform also includes several measures unveiled on the campaign trail that won’t take effect until the government balances the budget.

That includes a measure that will allow couples with children under 18 to split their income for tax purposes. The Tories will also double the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts and extend a fitness tax credit to adults.

If the Conservatives deliver on their promise to accelerate deficit reduction, such promises could kick in a year earlier than expected.
Mr. Harper is promising to roll 12 crime bills into at least one omnibus bill and push them through Parliament within 100 days of the Tories winning a majority.

The list includes bills that crack down on organized drug crime, end house arrest for violent criminals and establish tougher sentences and mandatory jail time for sexual offences against children.